Protective mouthpiece



Feb. 22, 1966 A G. JACOBS PROTECTIVE MOUTHPIECE Filed Nov. 8, 1963 un" "W INVENTOR.

ALFRED G. JACOBS ATTORNEY United States Patent Of 3,236,235 PROTECTIVE MOUTHPIEQE Alfred G. Jacobs, Madison, Wis, assignor to Madison Dental Co., Madison, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Nov. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 322,391 7 Claims. (Cl. 128-136) My invention relates to an improvement in protective mouthpieces, especially those mouthpieces used by athletes in such contact sports as boxing and football.

It is vital that athletes participating in contact sports, and persons engaging in any activity in which they are subject to jarring contacts, wear mouthpieces to protect their teeth. A typical mouthpiece consists of a U-shaped channel of sufficient size to slip easily over a persons upper or lower teeth, usually the upper. The channel contains a filler material which may receive and retain an impression of the teeth of the person fitted with the mouthpiece. Because the fillermaterial retains an exact impression of a persons teeth once the mouthpiece is fitted, themouthpiece fits snugly against the teeth and soft tissue of the persons mouth and is not easily dislodged. Any blow received by a person wearing the mouthpiece tends to be safely absorbed or cushioned by the filler material, instead of looseing or possible even chipping one of his teeth as might be the case if he wore no mouthpiece Several disadvantages are exhibited by the various mouthpieces in common use today. One such mouthpiece employs a thermosetting plastic for the filler material. To fit himself with this type of mouthpiece, a person must heat the mouthpiece to soften the thermosetting plastic, place the heated mouthpiece in proper positon in his mouth, bite down on the softened plastic to form in it an impression of his teeth, and then retain the mouthpiece in his mouth in that position until the plastic hardens. An evident disadavantage of such a mouthpiece is the considerable period the person must hold the mouthpiece in his mouth while waiting for the plastic to harden. The tissue in the person's mouth may be burned if the mouthpiece is too hot when he first inserts it. If the person cools the heated mouthpiece before inserting it, but cools it too much, the impression may be inferior. It is thus diflicult to obtain with safety and adequate impression in a filler material of thermosetting plastic. Moreover, a fitted mouthpiece with a thermosetting plastic filler material cannot be sterilized in boiling water without the filler material losing its impression of the fitted persons teeth.

Another type of mouthpiece employs a polymerized filler material. While this type of mouthpiece ends some of the heating problems associated with mouthpieces containing a filler material of thermosetting plastic, it must, like mouthpieces employing a thermosetting plastic, be kept in a persons mouth for some period to allow the filler material to set up" and retain the impression. Typically the period ranges from two to five minutes, the setting time for the polymerized filler material. Further, the usual polymerized filler material is fluid. It therefore requires care in handling and some skill in the person using it in order to obtain a satisfactory impression. My improved mouthpiece overcomes these and other disadvantages.

One object of my invention is to provide a protective mouthpiece which provides a person with a maximum amount of protection and which is extremely durable.

Another object of my invention is to provide a protective mouthpiece which may be quickly and easily fitted in the wearers mouth.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mouthpiece which eliminates the need for the person being 3,236,235 Patented Feb. 22, 1956 fitted to hold the mouthpiece in position within his month while the filler material hardens or sets to an impression of his teeth.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mouthpiece with a filler material that may be conveniently handled without mess or loss.

Another object of my invention is to provide a protective mouthpiece that may be more simply and economically manufactured than most presently known mouthpieces.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the principles of the invention has been selected for exemplifi-cation.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my mouthpiece as it appears before being fitted in a persons mouth.

FIG. 2 is a top view of my mouthpiece without the filler material.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the mouthpiece of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the mouthpiece of FIG. 2.

My mouthpiece 10 consists of a substantially U-shaped channel 11 and a body 12 of filler material enclosed by the channel 11. The channel 11 comprises a substantially fiat base 13 from which extends an outer wall 14 and an inner wall 15. The channel 11 is of sufiicient size to easily slip around the wearers upper teeth. As is evident from FIGS. 3 and 4, the inner wall 15 and the outer wall 14 are shaped to comfortably correspond to the outline of a persons mouth. If desired, the channel 11 may of course be adapted for the protection of the lower teeth.

The channel 11 may be constructed of any suitably tough, resilient and durable material. A preferred example of such a material is vinyl plastic. Other examples includes various polyethylene compositions having the above-mentioned properties.

The filler body 12 is preferably a moldable or puttylike high molecular silicone rubber. Examples of such rubber are the compositions P-57 and P-59 manufactured by W. Zech of Zurich, Switzerland.

Preferably the filler body 12 is not bonded to the channel 11. The putty-like character of the silicone rubber used for the filler body 12 insures that the filler body 12 is sufficiently secured within the channel 11. A plurality of ribs and legs integrally extending from the channel 11 may preferably be employed to further insure the secure engagement of the channel 11 and the filler body 12. One exemplary pattern of such elements is seen in FIGS. 2 and 4. Substantially horizontal ribs 16 project from the inner surface 17 of the outer wall 14. Similar substantially horizontal ribs 18 project from the inner surface 19 of the inner wall 15. A plurality of lateral ribs 20 extend between the horizontal ribs 16 on the outer wall 14 and the horizontal ribs 18 on the inner Wall 15, running along the inner surface 17 of the outer wall 14, the top surface 21 of the base 13 and the inner surface 19 of the inner wall 15. Pegs 22 project from the top surface 21 of the base 13 near the two ends 23 of the channel member 11. Other suitable patterns of ribs and pegs may be used in place of the one illustrated.

One especially beneficial feature of my mouthpiece 10 is that it ends the need for the person being fitted to hold the mouthpiece in his month until the filler material 12 sets to an impression of his teeth. Because my filler material 12 never sets, it remains moldable and puttylike for the useful life of the mouthpiece. In addition, no catalyst is required to be added to my filler material prior to use. However, the filler material 12 has sufiicient body to hold and retain any impression made in it, and to absorb the force of any jarring blows to the mouth.

Even if the impression tends to become somewhat blurred and indistinct under extreme conditions of temperature, for instance, a sharper and more distinct impression can easily be reformed.

All that a person must do to either initially form an impression r reform a blurred impression is place the mouthpiece in his mouth in position beneath his upper and lower teeth, and then bite down into the filler material 12 with his upper teeth. The impression is immediately formed by the force of the persons teeth. The fitted mouthpiece may then be removed from the persons mouth, and the impression will be retained as previously described.

The advantages of my mouthpiece 10 are many. Because the filler material 12 is not bonded to the channel 11, the bonding step required in most previous methods of manufacturing mouthpieces may be economically eliminated from the process for manufacturing my mouthpiece 10. In the manufacture of my mouthpiece the filler material 12 is simply placed in the channel 11, where it is retained by its own slightly tacky character and by the retaining ribs 16, 18 and 20, and the retaining pegs 22. Because the filler material 12 does not set, an impression may be made in no more than a few seconds. What is more, the making of the impression requires no special skill or care. Anyone may easily and safely make a satisfactory impression of his teeth. In addition, my improved mouthpiece may be easily cleaned with soap and water or any other cleaning agent which is not harmful to mouth tissues.

It is understood that my invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A protective mouthpiece comprising, a substantially U-shaped channel and a body of moldable, non-setting, high molecular silicone rubber filler material enclosed by said channel, said material being characterized by its ability to be molded and remolded Within said U-shaped channel base, its ability to receive and retain a dental impression, and its ability to substantially absorb the force of blows transmitted to the outer surface of the channel base, said body being retained in such enclosed position by said channel member and by the slightly tacky character of said body.

2. A protective mouthpiece comprising, a channel and a body of moldable, non-setting, high molecular silicone rubber filler material enclosed by said channel, said channel having a substantially U-shaped base with an outer wall extending from the outer edge of said base and an inner wall extending from the inner edge of said base, retaining means integral with said inner and outer walls and said base, said body being retained in said channel by said retaining means and by the slightly tacky character of said body.

3. The mouthpiece of claim 2 wherein the retaining means comprises a plurality of ribs and pegs extending into the inside of the channel member.

4. The mouthpiece of claim 2 wherein the channel is composed of vinyl plastic.

5. The mouthpiece of claim 2 wherein the channel is composed of polyethylene material.

6. A filler body for a protective mouthpiece having a substantially U-shaped channel member, said filler body comprising a non-setting, high molecular silicone rubber material characterized by its ability to be molded and remolded within said U-shaped channel base, its ability to receive and retain a dental impression, and its ability to substantially absorb the force of blows transmitted to the outer surface of the channel base.

7. The filler body described in claim 6 being further characterized by the fact that it remains slightly tacky which facilitates its retention in said channel member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,073,300 1/1963 Berghash 128136 3,103,217 9/1963 Butler et al. 128l36 3,124,129 3/1964 Grossberg 128136 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

2. A PROTECTIVE MOUTHPIECE COMPRISING, A CHANNEL AND A BODY OF MOLDABLE, NON-SETTING, HIGH MOLECULAR SILICON RUBBER FILLER MATERIAL ENCLOSED BY SAID CHANNEL, SAID CHANNEL HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY U-SHAPED BASE WITH AN OUTER WALL EXTENDING FROM THE OUTER EDGE OF SAID BASE AND AN INNER WALL EXTENDING FROM THE INNER EDGE OF SAID BASE, RETAINING MEANS INTEGRAL WITH SAID INNER AND OUTER WALLS AND SAID BASE, SAID BODY BEING RETAINED IN SAID CHANNEL BY SAID RETAINING MEANS AND BY THE SLIGHTLY TACKY CHARACTER OF SAID BODY. 